The present invention relates to a roofing product. More specifically, the present invention provides a composite ridge cap that includes a textured or contoured front portion having straight lower edges and a smooth back portion having lower edges that taper upward and inward.
Ridge caps are roofing shingles that are specifically designed to cover the ridges, hips and, occasionally, the rakes of a roof. Generally, ridge caps are installed after other conventionally-shaped shingles have been installed on a roof. The ridge caps are installed over the final courses of conventionally-shaped shingles, which, along with the height of the associated ridges or hips, causes the ridge caps to be one of the most visible components of a roofing system.
A variety of ridge caps exist in the prior art. For example, the prior art includes a number of foldable ridge caps. These caps are manufactured and shipped in a flat configuration and, thereafter, the caps are bent or folded into shape during installation. Unfortunately, foldable ridge caps have some limitations. First, because they must be bent or folded into shape, foldable ridge caps require a relatively significant amount of time to install. Second, foldable ridge caps have a tendency to crack at the fold lines and curl at the edges, and, therefore, these caps have a relatively high failure rate when compared to conventionally-shaped shingles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,340 provides an example of another type of prior art ridge cap. This patent discloses a preformed shingle unit for covering the hip, ridge and rake portions of an asphalt roof. The unit includes a tapered substrate that is permanently bonded to a protective top cover, sheet or panel. The top cover is configured to simulate a wood shake shingle. Although this unit purportedly avoids the limitations of folded ridge caps, it has its own drawbacks. For example, the unit is rigid so that if a roof pitch is not perfect, then the unit will not conform to the roof. Additionally, because of the many steps required, the unit is relatively difficult to manufacture. Also, the shape of the unit causes the covered hip or ridge to have an unattractive saw tooth appearance.